Manuel Jose Arce

Manuel Jose Arce (1 January 1787-14 December 1847) was President of the United States of Central America from 1825 to 1829, succeeding Jose Cecilio del Valle and preceding Mariano Beltranena y Llano.

Biography
Manuel Jose Arce was born in San Salvador (now in El Salvador) in 1787, and he was educated in Guatemala. He joined the independence movement during the struggle against Spain, and he was imprisoned for four years for taking part in the uprising of his uncle, Jose Matias Delgado. In 1822, he commanded the Salvadoran defense of San Salvador against an invading Mexican army, and he became a decorated general. He was also opposed to annexation to the United States, which had been requested on 2 December 1822. In 1823, he failed in his attempt to raise a Mexican force to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule, and he returned to El Salvador from the USA. In October, he was elected to the executive triumvirate of Central America, and he pacified Nicaragua with minimal violence. In 1825, backed by the Liberal Party of Central America, Manuel Jose Arce was elected President of the United States of Central America, but he soon lost the support of the liberals in Congress and instead obtained support from the Conservative Party of Central America and the clergy. After he deposed the liberal state governor of Guatemala, a revolt broke out in El Salvador, and he was ousted from power in 1829 when the liberals entered Guatemala City. In 1832, while in exile in Mexico, he organized a failed military expedition against Francisco Morazan's government, and he briefly returned to El Salvador in 1842 before launching failed attempts to overthrow the government in 1844 while he was based in Honduras and Guatemala. In 1846, he retired to private life, and he died in poverty in 1847.